The Ostrich & The Crown An exhibition celebrating Holkham’s history from 1612 to 2012 and the Coke family’s association with the Crown over 400 years. The ostrich was believed to be capable of digesting anything, even iron. Sir Edward Coke was said to be the only man in England who understood The Digest (of the law) and chose the bird to compliment his motto, Prudens qui patiens etenim durissima coquit – The prudent man is the patient man, for he can digest (endure) even the hardest things. 1558 1603 1625 1649 1660 1685 1689 1694 1714 Elizabeth I James I Charles I Commonwealth Charles II James II William & Mary Anne 1612 Sir Edward Coke was Attorney General to 400 years ago this year, John Coke’s John took Parliament’s side in the Civil War. Elizabeth I and James I, but imprisoned by him. He marriage secured the Holkham Estate. His brother, Robert, took the side of King Charles I. founded the family fortune, but never lived at Holkham. 1714 1727 1760 1820 George I George II George III 1734 1776 In 1734 Thomas Coke began to build Holkham Hall. Thomas William Coke, known as ‘Coke of Norfolk’, inherited Holkham He did not live to see it completed 30 years later. 1744 from his uncle and undertook the programme of revolutionary Made 1st Earl of Leicester Made Earl of Leicester agricultural innovations that made him famous. of 2nd creation 61 years after inheriting Holkham 1820 1830 1837 1901 1910 George IV William IV Victoria Edward VII 1837 At the age of 83, ‘Coke of Norfolk’ The 2nd Earl inherited Holkham at the age of 20. The 3rd Earl did not He was in charge of the estate for 66 years and inherit until he was 61, but accepted a peerage from Queen Victoria, 1842 1909 only five years before his death. Inherited title had the terraces and fountain built. Inherited title lived to be 93. 1910 1936 1952 2012 George V Edward VIII George VI Elizabeth II 1941 1949 1976 Inherited title Inherited title Inherited title The 4th Earl considered handing over The 5th Earl had three daughters, The 6th Earl, the 5th Earl’s first cousin, Lord Leicester, the 7th and present Holkham to the National Trust. but no son to inherit Holkham. lived most of his life in Africa. Earl, inherited the title in 1994. The Ostrich & The Crown The Coronation State Banquet Banquet Invitation his table made by Johnstone Jupe Dress Code & Co. circa 1835 has been set in a The dress code stipulated full or court dress. However, as a T cost saving measure, those not able to afford such dress had formal style as was common during the an option to wear evening dress with medals. 3rd Earl’s time. The Victorian dinner service was made for the Coke family by Spode and the gilt chairs are part of a set made by Saunders of Soho in the early part of the 18th century. The coronation state banquet held at Buckingham Palace on the evening of the 4th June 1953 saw the 5th Earl and Countess sit down to dinner in the ballroom with nearly 300 other guests. Extract from Instruction for Royal Household State Banquet Room Plan The 5th Earl sat at table R, whilst the Countess sat at table E. The Countess of Leicester was Lady of the Bedchamber, the second most senior female position in the Queen’s household after the Mistress of the Robes. This instruction booklet shows that she was on duty at Buckingham Palace before the banquet, receiving non-royal guests in the Green Drawing Room. The state banquet menu may have appeared extravagant for the time as meat rationing did not end until 1954. The Ostrich & The Crown By Royal Command he coronation of Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Robes on the 2nd June 1953 was a unique T The Earl Marshal issued detailed printed orders concerning the dress code for Peers and Peeresses attending the coronation. family occasion for Holkham, with the 5th Earl and Countess of Leicester and their eldest daughter, Anne, all closely involved in the ceremony. Summons to the Coronation This press cutting shows the 5th Earl and Countess in their coronation robes, although for the actual coronation ceremony the Countess wore a dress by Norman Hartnell. Coronation Robes for Peers In the last 300 years Peers’ coronation robes have only been used twelve times. They are made of crimson silk velvet, trimmed with white ermine and rows of black sealskin spots. The rows extend around the full width of the cape, with half rows reaching from the right front edge to the centre back. These spots subtly reveal a Peer’s rank: a Duke has four rows; a Marquess has three and a half rows; an Earl has three rows; a Viscount has two and a half rows and a Baron has two rows. Coronation Robes for Peeresses Instead of a loose cape as worn by Peers, a Peeress’s robe is close fitting, open down the front, with short fitted sleeves edged with miniver fur. A small cape is worn across the shoulders whilst the train is edged with finest ermine. In addition to rows of sealskin spots on the cape, the Peeress’s two other symbols of rank are designed into the dress: the width of the ermine edging and length of train. This cartoon, which was cut from the Daily Express by the 5th Earl, shows two of Osbert Lancaster’s best known characters, Maudie and William Littlehampton, on their way to the coronation and in a bit of a pickle. The caption refers to the Four Hundred Club, one of the favourite haunts of Princess Margaret and her friends, of whom Lady Anne Coke was perhaps one of the closest. The club, housed in The 5th Earl of Leicester had been an equerry to the cellar of a building in Leicester the Queen’s father, George VI, and had walked in Square, was described as “the night the procession at the King’s coronation in 1937. time headquarters of society”. He was also a pallbearer at the King’s funeral Clearly the doings of London’s high in 1952. During the coronation week his duties society were as of much popular were to be in attendance on His Royal Highness interest and as well known to all Marshal Shah Wali Khan, who was representing then as they are in today’s ‘celebrity the King of Afghanistan. culture’. The Ostrich & The Crown Coronet Moth! Coronation Chair It would seem that moths are no respecter of rank and Chairs for the attending peers and peeresses were made attacked the ermine band surrounding the base of the by B. North & Sons and W. Hand & Sons. Listers Mill in 5th Earl’s coronet. Bradford made over 4,000 yards of blue velvet to cover the 2,000 chairs and 5,700 stools. After the ceremony those who occupied the chairs and stools were given the opportunity to purchase them. The 5th Earl, who served with the Scots Guards, is wearing underneath his coronation robes the full dress uniform with medals as stipulated in the dress code for the coronation. The Ostrich & The Crown A Maid of Honour he sovereign’s procession of nearly T250 people included the 5th Earl’s wife Elizabeth, who was Lady of the Bedchamber to the Queen, and her eldest daughter Lady Anne Coke aged 20 years, who was one of the six Maids of Honour. The Countess of Leicester followed the Mistress of the Robes, the Duchess of Devonshire, in the procession behind the Maids of Honour. For many of the Train Bearer next twenty years the Countess was to The letter from the Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, to Lady Anne Coke informing her of the part she was to play in the coronation and the letter instructing her to accompany the Queen on state visits, arrange with her opposite number as train bearer to adjust the height of their heels, The coronation procession with the Countess of Leicester (circled top right) so that there was no more than an inch between their heights. both at home and abroad. and Lady Anne Coke (circled centre) in Westminster Abbey. Press Attention Numerous rehearsals were needed for those taking part in the procession and Lady Anne Coke’s the pretty Maids of Honour became invitation to the coronation. a particular focus for the attention of the press in the weeks leading up to the coronation as public and media interest reached a peak. As reported in The Standard The Standard published this picture of the Queen with her Maids of Honour and the Mistress of the Robes, Mary, Duchess of Devonshire. The Maids of Honour are from left to right: Lady Moyra Hamilton, Lady Rosemary Spencer- Churchill, Lady Anne Coke, Lady Jane Heathcote- Drummond-Willoughby, Lady Jane Vane-Tempest- Stewart and Lady Mary Baillie-Hamilton. As reported in the Daily Sketch An alert Daily Sketch photographer caught the moment when Lady Anne Coke accidentally revealed the dress she would be wearing at the coronation as she descended the steps of Westminster Abbey. The headline for this article read, ‘The sparkle of tiaras in coronation London’. The Ostrich & The Crown The Norman Hartnell Dress Photographs at the Palace Cecil Beaton took a series of photographs of the Queen with her Maids of Honour. Lady Anne is second from the left in this photograph. Following a precedent set by Queen Victoria, the Queen chose maids of honour rather than pages to bear her train throughout the ceremony.